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Vegetable brown stock
Featured recipe

Vegetable brown stock

A hearty stock that's simmered for 2 hours, then blended and strained, so the potato gives it body. Its deeper flavour suits thick soups, gravies and stews. Freeze it in portions so it's ready when you need it.

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AnoushabourChristmas wheat pudding

Anoushabour, 'sweet soup', is cooked by Armenian families for New Year and for Christmas, which the Armenian church keeps on 6 January; in Yerevan and diaspora kitchens a big pot is made and bowls are carried to friends. Whole hulled wheat is simmered until creamy, sweetened and filled with apricots, raisins and prunes, then topped with walnuts, almonds, pomegranate and cinnamon. A common mistake is adding the fruit early, which turns it to pulp. Chef's tip: stir in a spoon of rose water at the end and serve the pudding cool; it sets slightly and the flavours come together.

120 minArmenianDessertsVegan
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Doi chiraFlattened rice with curd

Nothing is cooked for doi chira, which is why it has been the breakfast of farmers and fishermen in Barisal for generations: flattened rice is rinsed, softened in thick, slightly sour curd and sweetened with jaggery or sugar, then mashed together with a ripe banana. The texture is soft and creamy with a little chew from the rice flakes, and the taste is cool, sweet and tangy. It is eaten on hot summer mornings, at village fairs and as part of the Pohela Boishakh spread, and it is a favourite of children and of anyone fasting who wants something gentle. The usual misstep is soaking the chira for too long, which turns it to paste; a quick rinse is all it needs before the curd does the rest. Chef's tip: use thick-cut chira, not the thin kind for frying, so the flakes hold their shape.

10 minBangladeshiBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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KanchembaFried buckwheat fingers

In the Thakali villages of Thak Khola, kanchemba is what is fried when visitors arrive in the afternoon or when the family gathers on a winter evening, and it has since become a favourite snack in Thakali restaurants in Pokhara and Kathmandu. The buckwheat dough is seasoned with turmeric, chilli and a little onion, rolled into thick fingers, then deep-fried until crunchy outside and soft and nutty in the centre. A punchy dipping achar of tomato, chilli, garlic and roasted timur comes alongside, and the pair is eaten with a bowl of salty butter tea or a glass of hot water. The trouble usually starts when the fingers are too thick, so the middle stays pasty while the outside darkens. Chef's tip: keep the fingers no thicker than your own, and fry at a moderate heat so they cook through before they brown.

40 minNepaliSnacks & StartersVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Diram fittiSprouted wheat bread with butter

High in the Hunza valley, diram is flour ground from wheat that has been soaked, sprouted and sun-dried, and it gives this thick, round bread a gentle natural sweetness and a faintly malty smell. Diram fitti is cooked slowly in a covered pan, then broken into rough pieces while still hot and drowned in melted butter and a little apricot-kernel oil, so it turns rich, soft and fragrant; in Karimabad and Altit it is made for guests, for festivals such as Ginani at harvest time and to feed someone through a hard winter. It is eaten with the hands, often with salty Hunza tea. Pale, raw centres are the common fault, so cook it slowly with the lid on. Chef's tip: sprouted wheat flour is sold in health-food shops; use only food-grade culinary apricot-kernel oil, or swap in walnut oil or more butter.

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DirkoshDried crisp injera

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190 minEthiopianBasicsVegan
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Kancha kola bhortaGreen banana mash

Green cooking bananas are cheap all year in Bangladeshi markets, and in homes from Comilla to Kushtia they are boiled whole and turned into a pale, gently starchy bhorta that is more filling than it looks. The flesh is mashed while warm with raw onion, green chilli, coriander and a generous splash of mustard oil, so it tastes mild and earthy with a sharp, nose-tingling finish. It is a weekday lunch with rice and dal, food for someone recovering from illness, and a regular on the bhorta platter during the Pohela Boishakh meal. Peeling the bananas before boiling makes them waterlogged and gluey, so they go into the pot in their skins. Chef's tip: mash while still warm; cold green banana goes hard and lumpy and won't absorb the oil.

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Kandahari tikkaGrilled lamb chunks

Kandahar's tikka houses pride themselves on doing very little to the meat: chunks of lamb, threaded on wide iron skewers with small pieces of tail fat between them, are rubbed with grated onion, salt and black pepper and grilled over fierce charcoal until the fat drips and flares. The result is smoky, juicy and peppery, with crisp edges and a clean lamb flavour, and it is served on hot naan with raw onion, tomato and a sharp green chutney. Over-marinating in onion is a common misstep, as the juice softens the surface into mush after a day; two to four hours is plenty. Chef's tip: let the skewers rest for 2 minutes on the naan before eating, so the bread soaks up the juices.

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Kancha aamer tok dalGreen mango lentil dal

When the first hard, green mangoes fall from the trees around Rajshahi in April and May, cooks slice them into the dal pot, and the result is the most refreshing bowl of the hot season. Tok dal is deliberately thin, almost like a soup, with soft red lentils and slices of green mango that turn tender and tangy, finished with mustard seed and dried chilli crackling in mustard oil. It is eaten poured over plain rice, often as the last thing before a light fish or vegetable curry, because the sourness is meant to cool the body in the heat. Adding the mango at the start leaves it mushy and the dal overly sour, so it goes in once the lentils are soft. Chef's tip: taste the mango first; very sour fruit may need a pinch more sugar to balance it.

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Karachi halwaCornflour halwa

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Anda parathaEgg-stuffed paratha

At the dhabas along the GT Road and the breakfast stalls of Rawalpindi's Saddar, the paratha-wala cracks an egg straight into a bowl with onion and chilli, half-cooks a paratha, pours the egg over and flips the whole thing onto the tawa so the egg fries into the bread. The result is one golden, layered disc that is crisp at the edges, soft where the egg meets the dough, and peppery with green chilli. Truck drivers, students and office workers eat it folded in half with chai, ketchup or green chutney, and it is a common packed lunch for school because it needs no curry. The problem most people run into is pouring the egg onto a raw paratha, which tears, or onto a fully cooked one, which will not let the egg stick. Chef's tip: cook the first side only until brown spots appear, then add the egg to the cooked side and flip so the egg sets against the hot iron.

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DibsDate syrup

Across the Gulf, from the date gardens of Al-Ahsa to the oases of Oman and the UAE, dibs is the dark, glossy syrup pressed and boiled from ripe dates, and it was the region's sweetener long before sugar was common. It tastes of toffee and dried fruit with a faint bitterness, and families pour it over chebab and khameer, mix it with tahini for dipping bread, and use it in sweets like luqaimat. Making it at home takes time but little effort, and a kilo of dates gives a jar that lasts for months in the fridge. The mistake is boiling the strained juice too hard at the end: it scorches and turns bitter. Chef's tip: squeeze the date pulp in the cloth when it is still warm; you get far more juice than from cold pulp.

180 minGulf ArabianBasicsVeganGluten free
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BozartmaLamb stew with tomato and saffron

Bozartma comes from Ganja, Azerbaijan's second city at the foot of the Lesser Caucasus, where lamb on the bone is browned and then stewed with a mountain of onions and tomatoes until the sauce turns thick and red-gold with saffron. The name hints at the browning (boz, 'grey-brown'), and Ganja cooks say the onions must melt completely. It is eaten with bread and greens, and a chicken version is common too. A common mistake is adding water; the onions and tomatoes give all the liquid needed. Chef's tip: cook it uncovered for the last 15 minutes, until the fat rises to the top; that is how Ganja cooks know bozartma is ready.

105 minAzerbaijaniMeatGluten free
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AnababeroLayered injera with spiced butter

Ask for anababero at a breakfast café in Addis Ababa and two injeras arrive stacked as one, glued together with melted niter kibbeh and a dusting of berbere, then warmed on the griddle until the butter soaks through. The result is soft and tangy inside, a little crisp at the edges, and much richer than plain injera; the name roughly means 'layered' or 'piled on top'. It is torn and eaten as it is with sweet spiced tea or coffee, or served beside a bowl of ayib or a spoon of awaze for anyone who wants it hotter. Because it uses yesterday's injera, it is a favourite way to turn leftovers into a proper breakfast. Chef's tip: brush the butter on warm, not hot, so it melts into the injera's holes instead of pooling on the surface.

13 minEthiopianBreads & Parathas
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Dominican catibíasBeef-filled cassava turnovers

Catibías are the cassava cousins of empanadas, made in Dominican kitchens and sold at frituras stands in the Cibao and along the Malecón as an afternoon snack. Boiled cassava is mashed with oil and a touch of anise into a smooth, pliable dough, folded around seasoned beef mince and fried until the outside is crisp and blistered and the inside chewy. Because there is no wheat, they are naturally gluten free. The common mistake is letting the cassava cool before mashing; it becomes stringy and won't come together, so mash it hot. Chef's tip: pull out the woody fibre in the middle of each cassava piece after boiling, or the dough will tear.

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DibyazaApricot and date compote

No Eid table in Jeddah or Mecca is complete without a bowl of dibyaza, a thick, glossy compote that old Hejazi families make the night before the festival and serve at breakfast alongside cheese, olives and fresh bread. Sheets of dried apricot paste melt into a tangy orange syrup that wraps around soft dates, figs, prunes and crunchy nuts, so every spoonful is sweet, sour and jammy at once. Some households stir in fried onion for a savoury edge; this version keeps it to fruit and nuts. People often boil it hard and scorch the bottom, because apricot paste catches very easily. Keep the heat low and stir from the base. It keeps for a week in the fridge. Chef's tip: soak the apricot paste in hot water until completely soft before it goes near the heat; it then dissolves smooth instead of leaving rubbery shreds.

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Kalo jeera bhortaNigella seed mash

A bhorta lunch spread in a Bangladeshi home always has one tiny, dark mound that people eat a pinch at a time, and that is kalo jeera bhorta. Nigella seeds are toasted until fragrant, then ground on the shil-pata, the stone slab and roller, with garlic, roasted dried chilli, onion and mustard oil into a coarse, almost black paste that is nutty, bitter and fiery all at once. Grandmothers serve it in winter, believing it wards off colds, and a little is mixed into the first handful of hot rice before moving on to fish or dal. Burnt seeds make it acrid, so the trap is toasting over too high a heat; stop as soon as they smell toasty and start to pop. Chef's tip: grind the seeds alone first, then add the garlic and oil, for a smoother paste in a small grinder.

15 minBangladeshiChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
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DhikriSteamed rice flour dough shapes

For Maghi, the Tharu new year in mid-January, and for Dashain and Atwari, families in Dang, Bardiya and Kailali sit together on the floor shaping dhikri, long pieces of rice-flour dough rolled and twisted into ropes, spirals, fish, birds and finger-marked ridges before they are steamed. The finished pieces are soft, smooth and chewy, with a clean, sweetish rice flavour that makes them a canvas for whatever is served alongside: a spicy tomato and sesame chutney, a lentil soup, a vegetable curry or, in many homes, a festive meat curry. Leftovers are sliced and fried the next day. The usual mistake is mixing the dough too dry, which cracks as you shape it and steams up hard. Chef's tip: keep the dough covered with a damp cloth while you shape, and dip your fingers in water if it starts to crack.

45 minNepaliRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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Kochu shakTaro greens with coconut

In the wet villages of Khulna and Bagerhat, near the edge of the Sundarbans, taro grows wild along every pond, and its dark leaves and tender stems are cut, chopped fine and simmered into a soft, creamy green dish with grated coconut. At home it is often cooked with small shrimp or the head of a hilsa for richness; this version keeps it vegetarian and leans on coconut and mustard oil instead. Cooked well, it is soft and silky, coconut-sweet and earthy, and is eaten with rice and a squeeze of lime. Taro leaves contain calcium oxalate crystals that make the mouth itch if they are undercooked, so the classic error is pulling it off the heat too soon; it needs a full 25 minutes and a sour element at the end. Chef's tip: use young leaves from edible taro and wear gloves or oil your hands while cutting the stems.

45 minBangladeshiVegetarianVeganGluten free
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KålrabistappeMashed swede

Kålrabistappe is the bright orange mash of swede that sits beside almost every Norwegian winter dinner: with pinnekjøtt lamb ribs at Christmas in western Norway, with raspeballer on Thursdays, with salted meat and sausages. It is simple: swede and a little potato boiled soft and mashed with butter, a splash of the cooking water and nutmeg. A common mistake is mashing it in a blender, which makes it gluey. Chef's tip: let the swede steam dry in the pan for a couple of minutes after draining; the mash stays fluffy, not watery.

40 minScandinavianSidesGluten free
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Babath curryBeef tripe curry

Babath curry belongs to the Muslim and Malay kitchens of Colombo and Slave Island, a frugal, rich dish of beef tripe that turns up at family lunches and in small rice-and-curry cafés where regulars ask for it by name. The tripe is cleaned, boiled with turmeric and vinegar until soft, then sliced into ribbons and simmered in a dark roasted curry with black pepper, cinnamon and a little coconut milk until it soaks up all the spice. The texture is pleasantly chewy and the gravy deep, hot and slightly sour, and it is eaten with rice, roti or bread to mop up the sauce. Many first attempts fail because the tripe is not boiled long enough first, so it stays rubbery however long it spends in the curry. Chef's tip: buy cleaned, bleached honeycomb tripe from a halal butcher, and boil it until a knife slides through with no resistance before you start the curry.

150 minSri LankanMeatGluten freeSpicy
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Babi pangangCrispy pork in sweet-sour sauce

Babi pangang is one of the most ordered dishes in the 'Chinees-Indisch' restaurants found in every Dutch town: crisp-skinned roast pork belly, sliced and smothered in a bright red, sweet-sour sauce with tomato, ginger and pickled vegetables, served with rice or nasi goreng. This is a pork dish. A common mistake is pouring the sauce over too early, which turns the crackling soft. Chef's tip: dry the skin overnight in the fridge and roast it hot at the end, then pour the sauce around, not over, the pork at the table. Whole pork joints are safe at 63 °C plus a rest; belly is best cooked longer, until tender.

105 minDutchMeat
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Babka wielkanocnaEaster yeast cake

A golden babka standing tall in the Easter basket used to be a matter of family pride, and old cooks whispered while it baked, convinced a slammed door would make it sink. The dough is soft and rich with egg yolks and butter, beaten until it is elastic, then baked in a fluted ring tin into a cake with a fine, feathery, saffron-yellow crumb. Raisins are often soaked in rum; this version uses orange juice, but a couple of spoons of rum work if you prefer. The usual slip is adding too much flour to a sticky dough, which makes the babka dry; it should stay soft and almost batter-like. Chef's tip: cool the babka on its side, turning it now and then, so the delicate crumb doesn't collapse.

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DhidoBuckwheat flour porridge

Before rice reached every corner of Nepal, dhido was what filled bellies in the high villages of Jumla, Dolpa, Mustang and the middle hills, and it is now enjoying a comeback in Kathmandu restaurants as a wholesome, gluten-free choice. Buckwheat or millet flour is rained into boiling water and stirred with a flat wooden paddle until it becomes a smooth, heavy, elastic mass, which is eaten with the fingers, pinched off and dipped into a sour vegetable soup, a bowl of lentils or a fiery tomato pickle. It has an earthy, slightly bitter flavour and a satisfying, sticky texture that is meant to be swallowed rather than chewed. Lumps are what ruin it most often, and they come from adding the flour too quickly. Chef's tip: add the flour in a thin stream with one hand while stirring hard with the other, and keep beating for a full 10 minutes once it is all in.

30 minNepaliRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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KokonteDried cassava swallow

Dried in the sun and ground to a coarse brown powder, cassava keeps for months as kokonte, and in Ashanti villages it is the swallow of the dry season and of lean times. Cooked, it turns into a smooth, firm, earthy-tasting dough, darker than fufu and with a faint smokiness, that is classically eaten with groundnut soup or palm nut soup; its colour earned it the joking nickname 'face the wall'. It takes only minutes to make. Those soups usually carry meat or fish, so serve a vegetable soup for a meat-free meal. Chef's tip: mix a third of the powder with cold water to a paste before it goes into the boiling water; dumping dry powder into hot water is the common mistake and makes stubborn lumps.

20 minGhanaianBasicsVeganGluten free
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Kola kendaHerbal red rice porridge

Early in the morning, outside bus stands in Kandy and along the walking paths of Colombo's parks, vendors ladle bright green kola kenda from big pots into cups, handing each customer a lump of jaggery to bite between sips. It is a thin, savoury porridge of red rice cooked until it breaks down, enriched with coconut milk and coloured with the juice of fresh leaves, most often gotu kola, though cooks also use hathawariya, mukunuwenna or even curry leaves. The taste is grassy, slightly bitter and very restoring, and older Sri Lankans drink it as a daily tonic. The leaf juice must never boil; adding it to a bubbling pot is the mistake that turns the porridge khaki and dulls the fresh flavour. Chef's tip: blend the leaves with cold water and strain them through a fine sieve, so the kenda stays silky with no stringy bits.

40 minSri LankanBreakfast & BrunchVeganGluten free
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KolbullarThick campfire pancakes

Kolbullar were the food of the charcoal burners who tended slow-smouldering kilns in the forests of Norrland and Bergslagen for weeks at a time: a thick batter of flour, milk and water fried in a pan over the fire, usually with pieces of salt pork mixed in. Today they are a favourite of Swedish hiking trips and forest festivals. This version leaves out the pork and is served with lingonberries and a pinch of flaky salt. A common mistake is spreading the batter thin like a crêpe; kolbullar are thick and chewy. Chef's tip: let the batter stand for 20 minutes so the flour swells and the pancakes stay soft in the middle.

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DhodhaMilk, wheat and ghee fudge

Every bus that stops in Khushab, on the road between Sargodha and the Salt Range, is met by boys carrying boxes of dhodha, the town's famous sweet and a standard gift for anyone visiting family in Punjab. It is lighter in colour and softer than habshi halwa, a moist, crumbly fudge of slowly reduced milk, a little wheat flour, ghee and sugar, packed with almonds, pistachios and walnuts and pressed into slabs about two fingers thick. The flavour is milky and nutty with a gentle caramel note, and it is sliced and eaten with tea, especially in the cold months. Where people slip up is under-reducing the milk, so the dhodha never firms and stays soft like a halwa. Chef's tip: keep stirring after you add the sugar until the mass leaves the sides of the pan cleanly and holds a ridge when you draw the spoon through it, then press it into the tin while still warm.

180 minPakistaniIndian Sweets
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Kalu dodolRice flour and jaggery sweet

Hambantota and Kalutara both claim the best kalu dodol, and roadside shops in each town sell long, black, glistening slabs wrapped in paper, bought by travellers as gifts for the family back home. The sweet is a test of stamina: coconut milk is cooked down until its oil separates, then rice flour and kithul jaggery are stirred in and the mixture is worked over the heat for two to three hours until it turns dark, glossy and stiff, with cashews and cardamom added at the end. It sets into a chewy, fudgy sweet with a deep caramel and coconut flavour, and is served in thin slices during Avurudu and at weddings. Giving up too early is the one mistake everyone makes once; undercooked dodol stays sticky and grey instead of firm and almost black. Chef's tip: use the widest heavy pan you have and a long wooden spoon, and keep stirring the same direction, scraping the base, so nothing catches.

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Amra chutneyHog plum chutney

Barisal is famous for its amra, the green, tart hog plums that pile up on market stalls from August to October, and every household there turns some of the harvest into a glossy, jammy chutney. The fruit is scored so the jaggery syrup can soak in, then simmered with panch phoron, dried chilli and a little turmeric until the flesh is soft around the hard, spiny stone. Sweet, sour and gently hot, it is served at the end of a wedding feast or a festive lunch, a spoonful eaten with the last of the rice, and children suck the stones clean. Cooking it too hard reduces the syrup to toffee once it cools, so stop while it still runs off the spoon. Chef's tip: if you can't find hog plums, sour green plums or a firm green mango cut into chunks make a good stand-in.

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BrunsliChocolate almond biscuits

Brunsli are the dark, chewy Christmas biscuits of Basel, one of the 'Basler Weihnachtsguetzli' along with Läckerli and Zimtsterne: ground almonds, sugar, dark chocolate, cinnamon and cloves bound with egg white, rolled out on sugar and cut into hearts, stars and clovers, then dried overnight and baked briefly so they stay soft inside. They are flourless. A common mistake is baking them too long, which turns them hard. Chef's tip: leave the cut shapes to dry overnight at room temperature; they form a thin crust and keep their sharp shape in the oven. Use a dairy-free chocolate to keep them dairy-free.

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KalkanFried turbot steaks

Turbot season on the Bulgarian Black Sea is short and strictly controlled, so in spring locals in Burgas and Balchik queue at the fish market for kalkan, the flat, diamond-shaped fish with firm, sweet white flesh. Seaside restaurants cut it across the bone into thick steaks, dust them with flour and fry them in sunflower oil until the skin is crisp and the flesh pearly, then serve them simply with lemon and a crunchy salad of shredded cabbage and carrot dressed with vinegar. Brill or halibut steaks work the same way if turbot is out of reach. A common mistake is turning the fish too soon, which tears the crust; leave it until it releases from the pan by itself. Chef's tip: score the dark skin twice so the steaks stay flat and cook evenly.

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KamaRoasted grain flour with kefir

Kama is a uniquely Estonian food: a fine flour of roasted barley, rye, oats and peas, sold in every Tallinn supermarket, stirred into kefir, buttermilk or yogurt with a little sugar or honey and berries. It was once farmers' food for the fields; today it is a fast, filling breakfast and the flavour of Estonian ice creams and sweets. If you can't find kama, roast equal parts barley, rye and oat flour with a little pea flour in a dry pan until nutty. A common mistake is eating it at once; give it a few minutes to thicken. Chef's tip: stir in the kama, leave for 5 minutes, then add the berries, so it thickens like a mousse.

5 minBalticBreakfast & Brunch
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Kancha aam makhaSpiced green mango

Outside every school gate in Bangladesh during the hot months, a vendor with a glass box on his cart sells green mango makha: unripe mango sliced paper-thin and squeezed by hand with salt, sugar, chilli and a splash of mustard oil, handed over in a cone of newspaper with a toothpick. Makha means mixed by hand, and the hand matters, as the squeezing bruises the mango so it softens and drinks in the seasoning. It tastes sour, sweet, salty and hot all at once, with the sharp nose-burn of raw mustard oil, and it is eaten as an afternoon snack in April and May, especially around Pohela Boishakh. Slicing the mango too thick is the error that leaves it hard and bland in the middle. Chef's tip: stir in a spoon of kasundi, Bengali mustard relish, for the version the street sellers call kasundi makha.

10 minBangladeshiSnacks & StartersVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Karađorđeva šniclaBreaded stuffed pork roll

Belgrade restaurants have served this since a local chef created it in the mid-20th century, naming it after Karađorđe, leader of the First Serbian Uprising; diners fondly call it the maiden's dream. A thin pork escalope (veal is the other classic) is spread with kajmak, Serbia's rich, slightly tangy clotted cream, rolled tight, double-breaded and fried into a golden log that oozes when cut. It comes with chips or roast potatoes, a lemon wedge and tartar sauce. If you can't find kajmak, beat cream cheese with a little soft butter and a pinch of salt. Rolling it loosely is the mistake that ruins it, because the cream escapes into the oil; roll tightly and chill before breading. Chef's tip: fry only until golden, then finish in the oven, so the crumb stays crisp while the pork cooks through to the centre.

60 minBalkanMeat
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KalachPadlock-shaped wheat bread

Street sellers in nineteenth-century Moscow shouted for kalachi hot from the oven, and the town of Murom near Vladimir had its own famous version. The loaf is shaped like a padlock with a thin arched handle; carters and labourers held it by the handle with grimy hands, ate the plump body and, so the story goes, left the handle for the poor, which gave Russian the phrase 'to come to the handle' for hitting rock bottom. The dough is lean and vegan, just flour, water, yeast and salt, kneaded firm and chilled, so the crumb comes out white, chewy and close under a thin crisp shell. Eat it warm with soup, or tear it with tea and jam. A common mistake is a slack dough; it must feel firm, or the handle loses its shape. Chef's tip: pour hot water into a tin on the oven floor as the bread goes in; the steam gives the glossy, pale crust.

175 minRussianBreads & ParathasVegan
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Roz me'ammarCreamy clay-pot baked rice

Village kitchens across the Nile Delta, from Menoufia to Sharqia, slide a clay pot of roz me'ammar into the bread oven for feasts, Fridays and Eid lunch. Short-grain rice bakes slowly in milk, cream and butter until it sets into a soft, rich block with a crisp, golden-brown crust on top that everyone fights over. In the Delta it usually comes with roast pigeon or duck; for a meat-free table it is just as good with a sharp salad, pickles and a dish of mish. Stirring it once it is in the oven is the mistake to avoid: it breaks the crust and makes the rice gluey. Chef's tip: use Egyptian or other round, short-grain rice; long-grain rice will not drink up the milk the same way.

115 minEgyptianRice & GrainsGluten free
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Kalai rutiUrad dal and rice flour bread

In Chapai Nawabganj and Rajshahi, kalai ruti stalls fire up as the weather turns cold, and the bread has become such a regional symbol that people from Dhaka make the trip just to eat it. Flour ground from mashkalai, or urad dal, is mixed with rice flour and hot water, then patted by hand between wet palms into thick rounds and baked on a clay tawa until speckled and toasty. The texture is dense, soft and slightly chewy, with an earthy, nutty taste. It is always eaten with something sharp: a raw bhorta of onion, green chilli and mustard oil, a smoky begun bhorta, or duck or beef curry in winter. Over-wet dough is what defeats most first attempts; it should be soft but hold its shape when patted. Chef's tip: keep a bowl of water beside you and wet your palms before shaping each ruti, which stops sticking and gives the characteristic smooth surface.

45 minBangladeshiBreads & ParathasVeganGluten free
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Ambarella curryJune plum curry

Ambarella trees, heavy with green, plum-sized fruit, shade countless gardens around Galle, and when the crop comes in, cooks turn the sour, crunchy fruit into this sweet-sour curry for Sunday lunch and family gatherings. The fruits are scored and cooked whole with roasted curry powder, garlic, cinnamon and cloves, then sweetened with sugar and finished in coconut milk, until the flesh softens and drinks in the dark, glossy gravy. Its tangy, fruity flavour cuts through richer dishes, and it is served in small portions with rice alongside a dhal and a meat or fish curry. Each fruit hides a spiky, fibrous stone, so warn guests to nibble around it. Leaving the skins whole and unscored is where many go wrong, because the spices never get in; make several deep cuts in each fruit. Frozen ambarella is sold in Sri Lankan shops; firm green mango is the nearest stand-in. Chef's tip: let the curry rest for an hour before serving, as the fruit keeps soaking up flavour.

50 minSri LankanCurriesVeganGluten free
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DemikátSheep's cheese soup over bread

Shepherds in the hills of central Slovakia needed only a kettle of water, a lump of bryndza and a loaf of bread to make demikát, a soup that comes together in a quarter of an hour at the salaš, the summer sheep hut. The soft, salty sheep's cheese is mashed with fried onion, paprika and caraway, loosened with boiling water and poured over chunks of bread, then finished with heaps of chives. It is tangy, creamy and very warming. Bryndza is traditionally made with animal rennet and sometimes from raw milk, so for a vegetarian, safer bowl choose a pasteurised sheep's cheese made with vegetarian rennet (a soft feta-style cheese mashed with a little cream cheese works well). The usual slip is boiling the soup after the cheese goes in, which makes it grainy; just bring it to steaming. Chef's tip: use day-old rye bread, toasted, so it soaks up the broth without falling apart.

20 minCzechSoups
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KalakukkoFish and pork rye loaf

Kalakukko is the travelling food of Savonia in eastern Finland, a speciality of Kuopio's market square: a thick rye crust packed with small whole fish, usually vendace (muikku) or perch, and slices of fatty pork belly, sealed and baked for five or six hours, until the fish bones soften completely and the juices soak the inside of the crust. This dish contains pork. It is cut open like a lid and eaten in slices, crust and all, hot or cold. A common mistake is a crack in the crust, which lets the juices escape and dries out the fish. Chef's tip: patch any cracks with a little rye dough during baking, and wrap the loaf in foil and a towel after baking to rest.

420 minScandinavianFish
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DaudoHand-cut noodle soup with mutton

Once snow closes the passes into Hunza and the apricot trees are bare, families gather around a pot of daudo: a mutton broth thick with short, hand-rolled wheat noodles, potatoes, carrots, spinach and plenty of fresh coriander and mint. It is everyday mountain food, eaten for supper from deep bowls and passed to anyone who comes in from the cold, sometimes with a spoonful of local apricot-kernel oil on top. The noodles are rough and chewy, the broth peppery and green with herbs. Adding the noodles too early leaves them swollen and the soup gluey, so keep them for the last few minutes. Chef's tip: for a vegetarian version, simmer the vegetables in a good vegetable stock and add a handful of chickpeas instead of the mutton.

105 minPakistaniSoups
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KoththamalliCoriander and ginger brew

At the first sniffle, many Sri Lankan mothers put a pot of koththamalli on the stove, and in Colombo offices and up in the damp hill towns during the monsoon you will see people sipping it from steel tumblers instead of tea. Coriander seeds are toasted, cracked and boiled with plenty of ginger until the water turns amber, giving a warm, earthy, slightly citrusy drink with a gentle ginger burn. It is traditionally drunk unsweetened with a piece of kithul or palm jaggery held in the other hand and nibbled between sips, though you can dissolve the jaggery in if you prefer. Grinding the seeds to powder is a mistake, because the drink turns muddy and gritty; they should only be cracked. Chef's tip: toast the coriander just until it darkens a shade and smells like orange peel; that is when the oils are at their best.

20 minSri LankanDrinksVeganGluten free
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AmandineChocolate sponge cakes

Every Bucharest cofetărie keeps a tray of amandine in the glass case, neat dark oblongs that generations of schoolchildren have bought with their pocket money. Despite the almond-sounding name there are no almonds in them: a cocoa sponge is split, soaked with a cocoa syrup, sandwiched with a rich chocolate custard buttercream and coated in a shiny ganache. Bakeries traditionally add rum to the syrup; this version is alcohol-free and uses vanilla and orange zest instead, though you can add 2 tablespoons of rum if you like. A common mistake is soaking the sponge while the syrup is still hot, which turns it to mush; both should be cool. Chef's tip: chill the filled cake until really firm before glazing and cutting, and wipe the knife hot between each cut for clean edges.

155 minRomanianBaking
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Kranjska klobasaSmoked pork sausage

Slovenians eat Carniolan sausage everywhere, from the stalls of Ljubljana's market to mountain huts and the ski slopes: a coarse, garlicky pork sausage, smoked until bronze, then heated in water and served with mustard, freshly grated horseradish and bread. Made with pork shoulder and back fat chopped rather than finely minced, it snaps when you bite it and spills juice. The official sausage uses curing salt for its pink colour; this home version leaves it out, so the inside is pale, and it is hot-smoked until fully cooked, so it is safe to eat. A common mistake is boiling the sausages to reheat them; they split and dry out, so keep the water just below a simmer. Chef's tip: cut the meat and fat by hand into small dice for some of the mix, it gives the classic chunky bite.

240 minBalkanMeatGluten free
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Amala ko acharGooseberry pickle

Amala trees grow wild across the Chure hills and the lower valleys of Nepal, and in winter the hard, translucent green gooseberries are piled high in vegetable markets in Kathmandu, Hetauda and Butwal, prized as a source of vitamin C during the cold months. Steamed until they split into neat segments, then mixed with chilli, turmeric, fenugreek and hot mustard oil, they make a pickle that is crunchy, astringent, sour and spicy all at once, with a lingering sweetness that comes up after each bite. A spoonful goes alongside dal bhat or with a plain bowl of rice porridge when someone is unwell. The trap to avoid is steaming the berries too long, which turns them mushy and dull. Chef's tip: stop as soon as the first cracks appear on the skins; the segments should pull off the stone easily but still have a firm bite.

30 minNepaliChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
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KremboChocolate-coated meringue cream biscuit

Krembo is Israel's winter treat: from October to February children all over the country unwrap the foil, argue about whether to eat the top or the bottom first, and end up with chocolate on their fingers. A round biscuit carries a tall dome of light, vanilla-scented meringue cream inside a thin shell of dark chocolate. This home version uses a cooked Italian-style meringue, made by pouring hot sugar syrup into whisked egg whites, so the whites are heated and the cream holds its shape without gelatine. The common mistake is dipping when the chocolate is too hot, which melts the meringue; let it cool until just warm. Chef's tip: freeze the piped domes for 20 minutes before dipping so the coating sets in a thin, even shell.

60 minIsraeliDesserts
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Kakra bhunaMud crab masala

The muddy channels of the Sundarbans and the shrimp farms around Shyamnagar and Paikgachha are crab country, and in Khulna homes the big-clawed mud crabs are chopped in half, fried and then cooked down in a thick, fiery masala until it coats every crack and crevice. It is a dish for eating with your hands, sucking the masala from the shells and cracking the claws, with plain rice and a bowl of water for your fingers. Crabs must be bought alive and lively, or freshly cooked from a fishmonger you trust: throw away any that are dead before cooking, have a cracked shell or smell unpleasant. Ask the fishmonger to dispatch and clean them for you if you are not confident doing it yourself. Undercooking is the risk to avoid; the shells should be bright orange-red and the meat white and opaque right through. Chef's tip: crack the claws lightly before they go in, so the masala seeps inside.

60 minBangladeshiFishGluten freeSpicy
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BagiyaSesame jaggery rice dumplings

When the new rice is harvested in late autumn, Maithil households in Janakpur, Siraha and Saptari steam bagiya, plump spindle-shaped dumplings of rice-flour dough that are offered to the gods, given to married daughters visiting home and eaten warm on cold winter mornings. The smooth, chewy shell hides a sweet centre, here toasted sesame bound with melted jaggery and a pinch of cardamom, though some families use molasses toffee (chaku), grated coconut or sweetened milk solids instead. Plain bagiya are also made and eaten with chutney. A common slip is using cold water for the dough, which makes it crumble and split; it must be made with boiling water. Chef's tip: knead the dough while it is still as hot as your hands can bear, with a little oil on your palms, until it is as smooth as play dough.

60 minNepaliIndian SweetsVeganGluten free
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KruchenykyPork rolls with mushrooms and prunes

Kruchenyky, literally 'little twists', are the festive rolls of central Ukraine, made for name days, weddings and the big family table around Poltava and Kyiv. Thin slices of pork are pounded, wrapped around a filling of fried mushrooms and onion with chopped prunes, tied, browned and then braised gently in sour cream until the meat is tender and the sauce turns pale gold, sweet-savoury and lightly tangy. Some cooks use beef; pork neck or loin is the most common choice. Serve with buckwheat, mashed potato or boiled potatoes with dill. Boiling the sauce hard after the sour cream goes in is the slip that splits it into grainy flecks; keep it at a lazy bubble. Chef's tip: let the mushroom filling cool before rolling, otherwise the warm filling makes the thin meat sweat and the rolls refuse to hold together.

90 minUkrainianMeatGluten free
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Aloo tukTwice-fried pressed potatoes

Aloo tuk is the crunch on a Sindhi plate, the thing children steal first: small potatoes boiled, fried, squashed flat and fried again until they are craggy and crisp at the edges and fluffy within, then showered with red chilli, tangy amchur and salt. In Sindhi homes from Karachi to Shikarpur they sit beside Sindhi kadhi and rice or dal and bhuga chawal, and they are also served on their own as a teatime snack with green chutney. The most common error is pressing the potatoes while they are still raw-centred or too hot and wet, which makes them tear instead of flatten neatly. Chef's tip: after the first fry let them cool for five minutes, then press each one under a flat-bottomed bowl so it cracks at the edges, since those cracks become the crispest bits. For children, go easy on the chilli and use more amchur.

40 minPakistaniSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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DaqqusTomato garlic chilli sauce

Spoon by spoon, daqqus goes over almost every plate of kabsa, mandi and machboos from Riyadh to Kuwait City: a thin, bright sauce of ripe tomato, lots of garlic and hot chilli that cuts through rich rice. Restaurants in Najd serve it in little bowls beside the rice tray, and some families make it raw, others cook it briefly as here, which mellows the garlic and deepens the colour. It should be pourable and tangy, not thick like ketchup. People often overcook it into a paste; keep it loose with a splash of water. It also works with grilled fish and eggs. Chef's tip: grate the tomatoes on a box grater and discard the skins for a silky sauce without blending.

20 minGulf ArabianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Ful nabitSprouted fava bean soup

Sprouted beans are ladled out with their cooking liquor in Cairo homes when the weather turns cold or someone is feeling run down, and Egyptians swear by the broth as a pick-me-up. The beans are soaked and left to sprout for a few days, then simmered with onion, garlic and cumin into a light, earthy soup that is sharpened at the table with plenty of lemon. You can eat the beans with a spoon or pop them from their skins. Allow 3 to 4 days for sprouting, although the hands-on work is only about 20 minutes. People with G6PD deficiency (favism) must not eat fava beans. Chef's tip: stop the sprouting when the shoots are about 1 cm long; longer sprouts taste grassy and bitter.

70 minEgyptianSoupsVeganGluten free
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Bahamian guava duffSteamed guava roll

Guava duff is the Bahamas' best-loved dessert, served at Junkanoo season, Sunday dinners and Nassau restaurants alike: a soft dough spread with sweet stewed guava, rolled up, wrapped in cloth or foil and steamed until tender, then sliced and drowned in a warm butter sauce. Traditionally the sauce has rum in it, which is only lightly cooked, so the rum version is for adults only; the vanilla sauce below makes it alcohol-free for everyone. The most common mistake is rolling the duff too tight, which stops it rising; leave room in the wrapping for it to swell. Chef's tip: sieve the guava pulp to remove the hard seeds, and keep the thick paste for the filling.

135 minCaribbeanDesserts
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Espageti ayisyenSpaghetti with hot dogs

In Haiti, spaghetti is a breakfast food, and Saturday mornings in many homes start with a big pan of espageti: thin pasta tossed with sliced hot dogs fried in epis, tomato paste and a little hot pepper, often eaten with a boiled egg or a slice of avocado. It is quick, salty, savoury and loved by children. The mistake to avoid is boiling the pasta fully, then frying; it turns mushy, so cook it just short of done. Fry the hot dogs until piping hot all through (71 °C), as with any sausage. Chef's tip: save a cup of the pasta water; a splash of it turns the tomato and epis into a glossy coating.

30 minHaitianBreakfast & Brunch
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DanbaukChicken biryani

Weddings, birthday donations and the Friday lunch crowd after mosque prayers in downtown Yangon all call for danbauk, the Burmese take on biryani brought by the city's Indian-Muslim families. It is gentler than most South Asian versions: long grains scented with cardamom, cloves and butter, tender yoghurt-marinated chicken hidden underneath, and a crown of fried onions, plump raisins and golden cashews. Every plate comes with a bowl of sour onion, cucumber and green-chilli salad that cuts through the richness, and often a thin sour soup on the side. The usual slip is boiling the rice fully before layering; it then turns to mush during the slow steam, so pull it while each grain still has a chalky white core. Chef's tip: once the pot is sealed, leave the lid alone and dig in from the side at the table so every scoop brings up chicken and rice together.

120 minBurmeseRice & GrainsGluten free
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Kala bhunaDark mustard oil beef curry

Kala means black, and that is the colour you are aiming for: Chittagong's kala bhuna is beef that is first cooked with spices until tender and then fried and stirred, patiently, for the best part of an hour until the pieces turn dark brown to nearly black and the masala clings to them like a crust. It is a dish from the port city's wedding and Eid kitchens, now a fixture of Chittagong restaurants in Dhaka, eaten with plain rice, khichuri or rice-flour chitoi ruti. The taste is deep and roasted, sharp with mustard oil, black pepper and a little nutmeg and mace, with no gravy at all. The most common slip is turning up the heat to speed up the blackening, which burns the spices bitter rather than caramelising the meat. Chef's tip: it improves overnight, so make it a day ahead and re-fry it briefly before serving.

150 minBangladeshiMeatGluten freeSpicy
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Dambun namaSpiced shredded beef floss

During Ramadan and Eid in Kano, Kaduna and Maiduguri, tins of dambun nama appear on every table: beef boiled tender with onion and ginger, pounded in a mortar until it falls into fine threads, then fried slowly with onion and spices until it is dry, fluffy and golden. It keeps well, which is why it was made before long journeys, and it is eaten as a snack, with rice or tucked into bread. The texture should be like soft wool, not crunchy crumbs. Because the meat is fully cooked before drying, it is safe; store it in the fridge. Chef's tip: let the boiled beef steam dry for ten minutes before pounding, as wet meat clumps in the pan instead of separating into threads, which is the usual mistake.

130 minNigerianMeatGluten free
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MuhammarSweet saffron rice

Muhammar is a golden, gently sweet rice from Bahrain, cooked with date syrup or sugar, saffron and rosewater, and its natural partner is fried or grilled fish, especially safi or hamour, so that the sweet rice and the salty, crisp fish balance on the same plate. It is a Friday lunch and Ramadan dish in Manama and Muharraq, and each family argues for its own ratio of sweetness. The grains should be separate and glossy with a faint caramel colour, not sticky. The most common error is boiling the rice too long before steaming, which turns it mushy once the sugar goes in. Chef's tip: let a thin crust form on the base during the steam; Bahrainis prize those crunchy sweet bits.

70 minGulf ArabianRice & GrainsGluten free
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DammsugareMarzipan cake-crumb rolls

The dammsugare, 'vacuum cleaner', got its name because Swedish bakeries invented it to use up crumbs and offcuts of cake swept up at the end of the day: the crumbs are mixed with butter, cocoa and flavouring, rolled into logs, wrapped in bright green marzipan and dipped in dark chocolate at both ends. Bakeries usually flavour the filling with punsch, a sweet arrack liqueur; this version uses vanilla and a little orange, and is alcohol-free. A common mistake is rolling the marzipan too thick, which makes it cloying. Chef's tip: roll the marzipan thin between sheets of baking paper and chill the filled logs before cutting.

40 minScandinavianDesserts
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Balish mishtiGiant pillow-shaped chhana sweet

Balish means pillow, and in Netrokona, in the north of Mymensingh division, this sweet is sold in sizes up to the length of a hand: a huge, soft, oblong chhana sweet cooked in syrup until golden and spongy, then smothered with a layer of thick, creamy reduced milk. A sweet-maker in the town created it in the early twentieth century and it is now the gift people bring to weddings and family visits in the region, sliced at the table and shared. The inside is soft and syrupy, the topping rich like clotted cream. Large chhana shapes crack open in the boiling syrup if the dough isn't kneaded long enough, which is the main thing that goes wrong, so take the full 10 minutes. Chef's tip: a spoon of plain flour in the chhana helps the big pillows hold their shape as they swell.

120 minBangladeshiIndian Sweets
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Baigan chokaRoasted aubergine mash

In south Trinidad, from Penal to Siparia, baigan choka is the breakfast or dinner you make when there is an aubergine, a fire and some sada roti on the tawa. The skin is charred right over the flame until the flesh inside collapses, smoky and silky, then it is mashed with raw garlic and hot pepper and "chunkayed" with a spoonful of sizzling oil. The usual mistake is pulling the aubergine off the flame too early; any firm part in the middle tastes raw and spongy. Eat it with roti or rice and dhal. Chef's tip: push slivers of garlic into slits in the aubergine before roasting, then mash them in; you get mellow roasted garlic and a sharp raw note together.

30 minTrinidadianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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MeshabekLacy syrup-soaked fritters

Damietta, the port city where the Nile meets the Mediterranean, is famous across Egypt for its sweet shops, and meshabek is one of their signatures: lattice wheels of fermented batter piped into hot oil and dunked in syrup. Fresh from the fryer they shatter like glass and drip with sugar; by the next day they soften into something chewy and just as good. Families buy them by the box for Ramadan evenings, visits and holidays. The batter needs an hour to ferment before frying. The common mistake is frying in oil that is not hot enough, which leaves them pale, soft and greasy, so test it first. Chef's tip: a squeeze bottle with a 4 to 5 mm opening gives the neatest, thinnest lines.

60 minEgyptianDessertsVegan
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Kaju maluwaCashew and pea coconut curry

In the cashew-growing country north of Colombo, around Kurunegala and Puttalam, fresh green cashews are cooked into this creamy curry for weddings, almsgivings and the Avurudu table, and no one would dream of calling it everyday food. The nuts turn soft and buttery in a mild, pale gravy of coconut milk scented with cinnamon, pandan and unroasted curry powder, with green peas for colour, and it sits on the festive spread beside yellow rice and a sharp pickle. Fresh cashews are hard to find outside Sri Lanka, so this recipe uses raw dried ones soaked until they are almost like the fresh kind. Not soaking them long enough is the usual mistake; they stay chalky in the middle however long they simmer, so give them at least six hours, or overnight. Chef's tip: a pinch of bicarbonate of soda in the soaking water softens the nuts faster and gives them that tender, just-picked texture.

50 minSri LankanCurriesVeganGluten free
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Bajan jug jugPigeon peas and salt meat mash

Jug jug belongs to Christmas in Barbados, served alongside baked ham and roast pork on the big lunch table: green pigeon peas and salted beef and salted pork, cooked tender and minced, then stirred with guinea corn (sorghum) flour, herbs and onion into a thick, savoury, mouldable mash. Its roots are often traced to Scottish settlers' haggis and West African grain cookery, and it tastes rich, salty and herby. The common mistake is not soaking the salt meats long enough, which makes the whole pot too salty to eat; soak them overnight in plenty of water. Cook until the minced meat mixture is piping hot (71 °C) throughout. Chef's tip: stir in the sorghum flour a spoonful at a time while the pot bubbles, like making polenta, so it never turns lumpy.

180 minBajanMeat
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Dal pakwanFried bread with spiced chana dal

Sunday morning in Karachi's old Sindhi neighbourhoods, and in Hyderabad, means a queue at the dal pakwan stall, or a home kitchen hot with frying oil. Pakwan are crisp, bubbly discs of cumin and black-pepper dough, fried until they shatter like a cracker, and they are eaten broken into a bowl of soft, lightly spiced chana dal, then topped with sweet-sour tamarind chutney, raw onion and a dusting of chilli. The contrast of crunchy, soft, sweet and sharp is the whole point, so the parts are kept separate until the last moment. Thick pakwan are the most common disappointment: rolled too thick, they turn chewy instead of crisp. Chef's tip: roll each one as thin as you can and prick it all over with a fork before frying, so it puffs only a little and stays flat and crunchy.

75 minPakistaniBreakfast & BrunchVegan
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Dal goshtMutton and chickpea stew

Stretching a kilo of mutton to feed a big family is an old Pakistani household skill, and dal gosht is its most loved result: chana dal cooked with the meat until the lentils melt into a thick, golden, peppery gravy that is half curry, half stew. It turns up for Friday lunch in Punjab and for everyday dinners in Karachi Urdu-speaking homes, eaten with hot chapati, rice and a sharp salad of onion and tomato. Done right, some dal stays whole while the rest thickens the gravy. A common slip is adding raw dal to the pot at the same time as the meat; dal cooks faster, so it collapses into paste before the mutton is tender. Chef's tip: finish with a tarka of ghee, cumin and fried garlic for a Sunday version, or leave it plain with oil for an everyday pot that stays dairy free.

100 minPakistaniMeatGluten free
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Kueh kosuiPalm sugar tapioca cakes

Little brown domes of kueh kosui sit beside the kueh lapis and ondeh-ondeh at Peranakan and Malay kueh shops in Joo Chiat and Bedok, bought by the plastic tray for breakfast or tea and taken to Hari Raya open houses. The cakes are firm, springy and slightly translucent, with a deep caramel flavour from gula melaka and a scent of pandan, and every piece is rolled in fresh grated coconut seasoned with salt so it tastes sweet and savoury at once. A few drops of alkaline water give the classic bounce. The usual mistake is cutting or unmoulding them while warm; they are soft and sticky until fully cool and only then set clean. Chef's tip: strain the batter and stir it right before each pour, as the starch sinks to the bottom in seconds and gives you a hard base with a watery top.

60 minSingaporeanDessertsVeganGluten free
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BalachaungDried shrimp relish

Every Burmese pantry keeps a jar of balachaung, and along the Rakhine coast, where the dried shrimp come from, families fry it in big batches after the dry-season catch. Pounded dried shrimp are fried slowly with crisp shallots, garlic, chilli and a dab of shrimp paste until the whole lot turns into a dry, golden, crackling floss that is salty, smoky, a little sweet and quite hot. A spoonful lifts plain rice, a fried egg, rice porridge or a bowl of noodles, and it travels well, so students and travellers pack a jar to take away from home. Rushing it over a high heat is where most batches go wrong: the shrimp scorch and turn bitter before they are crisp, so keep the heat at medium-low and stir patiently. Chef's tip: fry the shallots and garlic separately and stir them back in only when the shrimp are done, so they stay crunchy for weeks.

45 minBurmeseChutneys & DipsGluten freeSpicy
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Bajre di rotiPearl millet flatbread

Pearl millet grows where wheat gives up, in the sandy fields on the edge of the Cholistan desert around Bahawalpur, and there bajre di roti is the bread of winter, thick, grey-green and earthy with a slightly sweet, nutty taste. Because millet has no gluten, the dough is kneaded one roti at a time and patted out between wet palms rather than rolled, which takes a little practice but no special equipment. In village homes it is eaten hot with a lump of white butter or ghee and a piece of jaggery, or with sarson ka saag and a bowl of lassi; for a vegan meal, serve it with saag cooked in oil. Making all the dough at once is the classic error: millet dough dries and cracks within minutes. Chef's tip: knead each portion fresh with warm water and the heel of your hand until it feels smooth and slightly sticky, like soft clay.

35 minPakistaniBreads & ParathasVeganGluten free
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Biye barir roastSweet wedding-style chicken roast

Ask anyone who grew up in Bangladesh what they look forward to at a biye bari, a wedding house, and the chicken roast is near the top, a single fried leg or breast lounging in a thick, sweet-spiced, ghee-glossed gravy beside a mound of polao. The word roast is a bit of a misnomer: the chicken is fried until golden and then simmered in a gravy of onion paste, yoghurt, milk and a little sugar, perfumed with cardamom, mace and kewra, so it tastes rich rather than charred. Children love it because it is mild and gently sweet, with only whole green chillies for warmth. A common error is skipping the frying, which leaves the chicken pale and lets it fall apart in the sauce. Chef's tip: use bone-in thighs and drumsticks with deep slashes, so the gravy gets into the meat during the short simmer.

75 minBangladeshiChickenGluten free
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Kakaós csigaCocoa yeast snails

Walk into any Hungarian bakery at seven in the morning and the window will hold trays of kakaós csiga, cocoa snails, glossy on top and dark-striped inside. Children eat them on the way to school with a carton of chocolate milk, and office workers grab one with a coffee. The dough is soft and milky, rolled up with butter, cocoa and sugar so the swirl turns fudgy and slightly sticky; a brush of syrup after baking keeps them shiny and moist for a day. Where most people go wrong is spreading the filling on too-warm dough, which tears; let the risen dough rest for a few minutes after rolling. Chef's tip: roll the dough up from the long side quite tightly and cut with dental floss or a very sharp knife, so the snails keep their round shape.

120 minHungarianBaking
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Aloo goshtMutton and potato curry

If one curry stands for a weekday dinner in a Pakistani house, from Rawalpindi flats to Karachi's Nazimabad, it is aloo gosht: mutton on the bone and halved potatoes in a loose, peppery shorba meant to be soaked up with chapati or poured over plain rice. Nothing about it is fancy; its comfort comes from a long bhuna of onion, tomato and spice before any water goes in, so the thin gravy still tastes deep. The potatoes go in once the meat is half done and come out soft at the edges, having drunk the gravy. Adding them at the start leaves them falling apart while the meat is still chewy, so wait. Chef's tip: when the masala is fully fried, add the water boiling hot, not cold, so the meat keeps cooking and the shorba stays clear rather than greasy.

90 minPakistaniMeatGluten free
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KulenPaprika and garlic pork sausage

In Slavonia, eastern Croatia, kulen is the prize of the winter pig slaughter: lean pork, plenty of hot paprika and garlic packed into a thick casing and then smoked and air-dried for months until firm and brick-red. Long home dry-curing needs controlled rooms and curing salts, so this recipe makes a safer fresh kulen-spiced pork sausage, rested overnight in the fridge and cooked through to 71 °C. If you want the real cured kulen, buy it sliced from a good deli; it is eaten uncooked, so it is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. Serve the fresh sausages hot with bread, pickled peppers and sour cream or ajvar. A common mistake is letting the meat get warm while mixing, which makes it crumbly. Chef's tip: chill the mince and the bowl until icy before you start.

1485 minBalkanMeatGluten freeSpicy
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Bakeapple jamCloudberry jam

Bakeapples, the amber cloudberries of the Labrador and Newfoundland bogs, ripen for a few weeks in late July and August, and families on the Northern Peninsula and the Labrador coast pick them by the bucket. Turned into jam, they taste of apricot, honey and wild herbs, and the soft seeds give it texture. It is spread on toast, tea biscuits and toutons, or stirred through cream. Frozen cloudberries work if you can't get fresh. A common mistake is boiling too long, which darkens the colour and dulls the flavour. Chef's tip: test the set early, on a cold saucer.

40 minCanadianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten free
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Aloo andayPotato and egg curry

Ask almost anyone who grew up in a Punjabi household in Pakistan what was cooked at the end of the month, when the meat money had run out, and aloo anday will come up with real affection. Halved hard-boiled eggs and chunks of potato sit in a loose, brick-red shorba of browned onion and tomato, thin enough to soak into a chapati and rice alike, with a cut green chilli on top. It is a weeknight and Sunday-brunch dish rather than a guest dish, and children tend to love it. Where it goes wrong is in the masala: if the onions and tomatoes are not fried until the oil separates, the gravy tastes raw and watery however long it simmers. Chef's tip: score the peeled eggs lightly with a knife and fry them in the masala for a minute before the water goes in, so they take on colour and flavour.

40 minPakistaniCurriesGluten free
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Dal chawal paliduLayered rice and dal

In the Dawoodi Bohra community of Karachi's Saddar and Kharadar, dal chawal palidu is the comfort meal of Sunday lunch and of the shared thaal at community gatherings, and nobody who grew up with it considers it complete without all three parts. Long-grain rice is layered with whole, separate grains of spiced toor dal and crisp fried onion, then steamed, while palidu, a thin, tangy curry made from the dal's own cooking water thickened with gram flour, tempered with mustard seed, curry leaves and garlic and studded with drumsticks, is poured over at the table. It is gentle, sour and deeply savoury. Overcooking the dal is the error to avoid, since it must stay in whole grains for the layers. Chef's tip: drain the toor dal as soon as it is tender and save every drop of the water, because that water is the base of the palidu.

80 minPakistaniRice & GrainsGluten free
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